What is documentary research

Of course, as we evolve, virtual documents like emails will play a large role in research activities conducted by these researchers. Documentary research is not limited to text only. Pictures, paintings, videos, audio files, monuments are also used to conduct research.

Documentary researchers use these tools in addition to texts while studying social sciences. The use of these tools adds to the authenticity of the textual research, or may very well point out deviations in the findings. This deviation suggests researchers to research more to draw accurate conclusions. Documentary research, if conducted thoroughly, can help develop a hypothesis or prove or disprove an existing hypothesis.

This of course depends on the methodology applied and the depth of research conducted. The data must be handled scientifically. Follow this four-step approach to control the quality of the content:. Authenticity implies whether the origin of the document is reliable, is the evidence genuine, are the intentions sincere, and what were the commitments to creating the document.

The authenticity of the source is the primary criterion of documentary research. Credibility means the subjective and objective components that make one believe the source of information and whether the data is free from distortion and error. The information must be trustworthy and must have some level of expertise. Representativeness refers to whether the document represents a larger collection of the data point, and it is an aggregation of the topic being studied.

That said, documents get distorted with time due to the inclusion of new factors, and a check has to be made to ensure the documents are representative. Meaning means whether the findings are understandable and clear to be called evidence. The goal of examining documents is to understand its significance and meaning. Researchers must find out whether the document fits within the historical context or not. Here are the advantages of the documentary research method:.

Here are the disadvantages of the documentary research method:. Though you're welcome to continue on your mobile screen, we'd suggest a desktop or notebook experience for optimal results. Survey software Leading survey software to help you turn data into decisions. Research Edition Intelligent market research surveys that uncover actionable insights.

Customer Experience Experiences change the world. Deliver the best with our CX management software. Workforce Powerful insights to help you create the best employee experience. What is documentary research? Examples, methodology, advantages and disadvantages. By credibility we understand the subjective and objective components that make the information source believe and if the data is free from distortion and error.

The information must be reliable and you must have some level of expertise. Representativeness refers to whether the document represents a larger collection of the data point, and is an aggregation of the topic under study.

That said, documents become distorted over time due to the inclusion of new factors, and the documents must be verified to be representative. It means if the findings are understandable and clear to be called evidence. The goal of examining documents is to understand their meaning. Researchers must find out whether the document fits the historical context or not. Here are some other characteristics of documentary research that are favorable for choosing to undertake this type of research:.

Readily available data: Data is available from various sources. You just have to know where to look and how to use them. Data is available in different forms, and leveraging it is the real challenge. Cheap and inexpensive : Data for research is already collected and published in print or other forms. The researcher does not have to spend money and time as he does to gather the knowledge of the market research and gather the data. You need to search and compile the data available from different sources.

Saves time: Conducting market research is time consuming. Responses will not arrive quickly as expected, and collecting global responses will take an enormous amount of time.

If you have all the referenced documents or know where to find them , the research is relatively quick. No biases : The collection of primary data tends to be biased. This bias depends on many factors, such as the age of the respondents, the time they spend on the survey, their mindset when taking the survey, their gender, their feelings towards certain ideas, to name a few. The list goes on and on when it comes to survey biases. The presence of the researcher is not necessary during data collection : The researcher does not need to be present during data collection.

It is virtually impossible for the researcher to be present at every point in the data source, especially with the various data sources in mind. Theoretical Perspectives of Documentary Research. With the use of primary and secondary materials, the researcher must assess and analyze the documents themselves before extracting content. Appraising documents typically includes four criteria: authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning Scott, Authenticity addresses whether the materials are genuine or of questionable origin, and whether their production is original and reliable and has not been subsequently altered.

If the document has been transformed, through textual editing, marginalia, or other means, the researcher seeks to clearly identify those alterations.

Authenticity is typically viewed as the most fundamental criterion for all documentary research in education since the confirmation of authorship, place, and date are typically determined before any researcher continues working with the document. While a narrative account or any form of qualitative data may be original and genuine—authentic—the content may still be distorted in some manner.

Such a rendering was much easier before our post-modern era and the recognition of constructed truths. At times, classroom descriptions and narratives suggest that the author may not have been in a position to formulate a faithful explanation or that the description was intentionally made to alter the record for dubious motives or unintentionally made merely by witlessness or inexperience.

All accounts become biased in some manner, and the documentary researcher is constantly ascertaining motives similar to the biographer as a way to detect distortion of the material.

Similarly, some important documents do not survive because their great significance caused them to become used and worn and, subsequently, discarded while less important documents survive because they are so little used. Matters of generalizability and reliability are constantly hovering above documentary researchers as they examine materials and decide what items should be drawn upon in their work.

Interestingly, Scott recognizes that determining whether documents are fully authentic, credible, and representative may never be able to be confirmed by the researcher; thus, he reverses the process and asks whether the materials may be deemed as inauthentic, non-credible, or unrepresentative.

A final criterion—meaning—represents the textual analysis of the document and whether the evidence is clear and comprehensible. While these four criteria are fundamental, McCullough underscores a fifth criterion of document analysis: theorization—the anticipated theoretical, hermeneutic framework for interpreting the material.

Such theoretical perspectives are commonplace for those in the field of curriculum studies. Related analysis and assessment of documents occurs as materials are ascertained as being public or private, primary or secondary noting that a primary source need not be the sole original document; primary materials are first-hand documents , and whether the researcher has direct-proximate contact being able to examine the original or primary document or indirect-mediate access facsimile or scanned e-version.